RISE UP! Toronto News & Events – Feb17, 2013

Thursday, March 7, 2013

There is lots to share, like, retweet & endorse in the week ahead.
Contact awillats@sympatico.ca to receive this weekly posting.
Top of MY own wish-list this week is that a flood of us will witness the call from Solidarity City* for a city report on the creation of Access Without Fear policies and practices at all city-funded programs and services.
The Solidarity City Network is asking us to:
“Come out to City Hall and show your support if you can from 9am, February 21, 2013 when Toronto City is voting to keep its promise of providing basic services to undocumented residents . For nearly 400,000+ Torontonians who don’t have full immigration status or all their papers this is critical.
“We still don’t have the 23 Councillors we need to win the vote. Many Councillors will be deciding which way to vote on the day itself. That means we need you, and 99 of your best friends, sitting in City Hall letting them know they are being watched.
“This vote could mean feeling a little bit safer when trying to go to the community centre or getting your kid into daycare.
“This is a promise Toronto made to immigrants years ago, now we just need to make sure Toronto keeps it. Until Feb 21, please get in touch with your City Councillor. Tell them to do the right thing and vote for Motion 18.5.
“But no matter what happens on February 21th, whether we win or lose the vote, the work is not over. A report will come back to City Hall in September, and we need to be there. The City will reach out to the federal and provincial government, but we will have to force them to pay attention.
“For the last eight years, we have organised in Toronto schools, shelters, food banks and health centres to ensure access without fear.
“Again and again local residents, staff at social services, and undocumented people have joined together to create real, independent, community based services.
“On February 21st, and after, let’s continue. Let’s ensure that decisions about public services are made by people that use them and those work at them. Be part of this work. Together, let’s build a city of solidarity, sign up here.”

* The Solidarity City Network comprises of Health for All, Immigration Legal Committee of Toronto, Justice for Migrant Workers, Law Union of Ontario, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Roma Community Centre, Social Planning Toronto, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, South Asian Women’s Rights Organisation, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, The Wellesley Institute and Workers Action Centre. Additionally, Motion 18.5 is supported by Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention, GOAL and AWCCA at George Brown College. To join the network, or to support our Access Without Fear campaign or to add your organisational support behind the CDRC recommendations, please write to solidaritycitytoronto@gmail.com

City Hall is the place to be this week to advocate for city workers, bike lanes, homeless people, the environment
and undocumented migrant people – see #1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. The homelessness issue is particularly pressing as
36 homeless people have died in the last 12 months. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty successfully erected
a homeless shelter outside Rob Ford’s office on Friday, resulting in this issue coming to City Council on the 20th.
Activists with Solidarity City convinced the Community Development and Recreation Committee to call for a report
on the creation of Access Without Fear policies and practices at all city-funded programs and services – please
come out and show your support if you can.

The Toronto Police Services Board is discussing the issue of strip searches at their meeting on February 19th –
Chief Blair is reporting on Level 3 Searches Conducted During the G20 Summit and the board is looking at the
general policy regarding search of person. The Toronto Police Accountability Coalition will be presenting a
deputation calling on the board to minimize the use of these humiliating and degrading searches. You can find
more info about the meeting at www.tpsb.ca

Just one more week until the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape annual Bowlathon –
my colleagues and I would really appreciate your support as we try to raise $1,500 for this great organization!
Please visit http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=10924 to support my team – the
Unholy Alliance :)

To subscribe/unsubscribe or to post an event – please send me a message to awillats@sympatico.ca. And if you
are sending info about an event, please remember to indicate whether it is wheelchair accessible (including the
bathrooms) or not, and if other provisions have been made to ensure equitable access for all (ie. ASL interpretation,
sliding scale/free entry, child friendly, multi lingual access, etc.).

Toronto – February 15, 2013 – Angered and frustrated by management’s refusal to bargain in good faith, 70 workers at the Homes First Society are set to walk off the job Feb. 18.

“The arrogance displayed by this employer is disgraceful,” said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “The workers of Local 540 need to know they have the full support and resources of our union behind them every step of the way.”

OPSEU filed notice with the employer yesterday that it is set to strike, effective 8 a.m. on Monday.

“There’s a bitter irony that our members will be setting up picket lines on Family Day,” said Kathleen Demareski, a negotiator for the union. “These hard-working people are already earning a very modest wage but who find themselves bullied by a hostile employer. It’s a measure of their anger that they’ve elected to withdraw their services.”

Local 540 has filed a bargaining in bad faith application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Despite receiving more than $6 million in annual funding from the City of Toronto labour relations at Homes First have been toxic for years. Grievances about employee mistreatment and human rights violations have been regularly filed and, most recently, management hired security guards at four locations in a defiant act of intimidation. Outside replacement workers have been hired even though they only duplicate the work of regular staff.

The union is calling on city council to take action by directing management to return to the bargaining table. Eight city councillors have a Homes First location in their ward but, to date, none have taken action on behalf of the clients or staff at the housing agency which works with more than 500 low-income tenants in shelters and homes in an effort to secure them with permanent housing.

Homes First has been riddled with accusations of financial mismanagement for years. It refuses to open its books to public scrutiny.
“It’s time city hall stepped in and told the board of directors and management at Homes First that they get serious about its financial accountability and bargaining a contract deal,” said Demareski. “We are disappointed that the eight councillors haven’t been more vocal about the poisonous employment conditions and management’s refusal to bargain in good faith. We encourage them to visit, unannounced, these locations.”

Are you interested in learning how to master new media tools for union activism?

The New Media Bootcamp for Union Activists is an free online course that
teaches union activists how to better use online tools to put forward the
message of the labor movement.

You can learn more about the course at http://www.NewMediaForUnions.com.

You will learn things such as:
– How to make your union’s content go viral online
– How to grow your Facebook Pages
– How to create effective petition pages
– How to best use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
– How to get your issue to the top of Google

The first module comes out on February 18th and you can complete the course
at your own pace.

Over the next two weeks, get involved to help make bike lanes on Eglinton Ave and contraflow lanes on Shaw St a reality!

We can get bike lanes built on Eglinton!

Later this month, the City is holding 3 meetings where they’ll be presenting draft ideas for Eglinton Ave. They need to hear from you that any redesign of Eglinton Ave must include high quality cycling infrastructure.

The idea is already gaining momentum. A recent Eglinton Connects survey (http://www.toronto.ca/eglinton/pdf/eg_connects_survey_results.pdf?) found that 85% of drivers support bike lanes on Eglinton! Our Chief Planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, is also thrilled about the idea:

“What I love about Eglinton is, if you look at the city geographically in the middle, it runs almost the length of the city. It runs for 17 km, so I think it’s a pretty good fit.” Read the full story here (http://www.thegridto.com/city/places/the-top-10-streets-that-need-bike-lanes/?).

The City of Toronto’s Eglinton Connects project is reviewing the entire Eglinton corridor from Weston Road to Kennedy Station. In particular, they are looking at reconfiguring the street where the LRT is underground from Mt Dennis to Don Mills Rd. This is our opportunity to get bike lanes on Eglinton, and connections to the bike lanes, routes and off-road trails crossing Eglinton!

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend one of the following public workshops:

All Public Workshops Sessions: Drop in any time between 5:30 and 9:00pm
Presentation and Workshop start at 6:30pm

Learn more about the Eglinton Connects project by clicking here (http://www.toronto.ca/eglinton/?).

Help Make Contraflow Bike Lanes on Shaw a Reality!

We’re thrilled that the City is now moving ahead with plans for a contraflow bike lane for Shaw St.

Approved by City Council in 2008 and 2009, implementation of the lanes were held up due to concerns over their legality under the Highway Traffic Act. Cycle Toronto worked hard to get the Province to provide clarity to the City of Toronto and are thrilled that the City is now moving ahead with them on Shaw St!

Attend a walk and public meeting on Tuesday February 19th to show your support for contraflow bike lanes on Shaw St.

On Friday, February 15th, in response to a series of homeless deaths
and as the weather dips to frigid temperature once again, OCAP and
allies took over the 2nd floor of City Hall and set up an ’emergency
shelter’ in front of Rob Ford’s office.

At 10pm, police moved in resulting in people being dragged out,
detained in the back halls of City Hall, and issued trespass tickets
with the expectation to appear in court in March.

As a result of yesterday’s action, Councillor Adam Vaughan has said
that he will bring an emergency resolution to Wednesday’s City Council
Meeting calling for action on the homeless crisis.

The emergency continues, and our community mobilization must continue!

NEXT STEPS:

-Join us Wednesday, February 20th at 9:30am at City Hall: help us pack
City Council as this resolution gets presented
-Contact your local City Councillor and demand that they support this
resolution and take action on homeless deaths:
http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp
-On Twitter follow: @OCAPtoronto Use: #nohomelessdeaths Tweet at City
Council: #TOpoli #CityofTO #TOCouncil

** Broadcasting on CKUT, 90.3 FM, as well as on over 35 stations across Canada from 5pm on February 20 to 7am on February 21
** Participate! Call in toll-free at 1-866-594-7729 to speak your mind about housing and homelessness

** Come down to the Native Friendship Centre, 2001 St-Laurent for a community dinner, or to partcipate in the broadcast.

Solidarity City Network demands Access Without Fear in T.O. (at City Hall on January 31st)

Toronto City Hall is voting to keep its promise of providing basic services to undocumented residents on February 21st. We still don’t have the 23 Councillors we need to win the vote. Many Councillors will be deciding which way to vote on the day itself. That means we need you, and 99 of your best friends, sitting in City Hall letting them know they are being watched.

Meet at 9am on Feb 21st at City Hall
(note the change in date, we are meeting on the 21st not the 20th)
facebook and tweet this image: http://on.fb.me/XfPqmk

For nearly 400,000+ Torontonians who don’t have full immigration status or all their papers this is critical. This vote could mean feeling a little bit safer when trying to go to the community centre or getting your kid into daycare.

This is a promise Toronto made to immigrants years ago, now we just need to make sure Toronto keeps it. Until Feb 21, please fill out this formhttp://bit.ly/ISupportAcessWithoutFear and get in touch with your City Councillor. Tell them to do the right thing and vote for Motion 18.5.

But no matter what happens on February 21th, whether we win or lose the vote, the work is not over. A report will come back to City Hall in September, and we need to be there. The City will reach out to the federal and provincial government, but we will have to force them to pay attention. For the last eight years, we have organized in Toronto schools, shelters, food banks and health centres to ensure access without fear. Again and again local residents, staff at social services, and undocumented people have joined together to create real, independent, community based services.

On February 21st, and after, let’s continue. Let’s ensure that decisions about public services are made by people that use them and those work at them. Be part of this work. Together, let’s build a city of solidarity, sign up here.

======================
The Solidarity City Network comprises of Health for All, Immigration Legal Committee of Toronto, Justice for Migrant Workers, Law Union of Ontario, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Roma Community Centre, Social Planning Toronto, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, South Asian Women’s Rights Organization, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, The Wellesley Institute and Workers Action Centre. Additionally, Motion 18.5 is supported by Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention, GOAL and AWCCA at George Brown College. To join the network, or to support our Access Without Fear campaign or to add your organizational support behind the CDRC recommendations, please write to solidaritycitytoronto@gmail.com
Cinema Politica UofT – Revolutionary Feminism Film Screening: My Daughter the Terrorist & Leila Khaled: Hijacker

In 1969 Palestinian Leila Khaled made history by becoming the first woman to hijack an airplane, and challenges our assumptions about those who resort to violent means in response to oppression. More detailed description and trailer:http://www.cinemapolitica.org/film/leila-khaled-hijacker

**My Daughter the Terrorist**

Two female soldiers fight for the independence of Tamil in this award-winning documentary. More detailed description and trailer: http://www.cinemapolitica.org/film/my-daughter-terrorist

**Stick around for a discussion about revolutionary feminism following the screenings.**

CINEMA POLITICA UofT – http://www.cinemapolitica.org/uoft
Cinema Politica UofT is an initiative of the Graduate Students’ Union, University of Toronto. We screen films that challenge conventional narratives and that explore under-represented stories. Our film screenings aim to engage students and the community in critical issues surrounding equity and environmental justice. We seek to accomplish this by following each screening with a discussion about how the content of the film relates to our own experiences and what action we can take collectively.

8.00PM: Bar opens, Music and Entertainment: DJ’s AntiCapitalista, and more!

Admission: Pay-What-You-Can
Space is wheelchair accessible (with a lift off the front entrance)

On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/483539615017209/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

———-
2012 was a landmark year for OCAP’s work. We fought and prevented the
definitive closing of the School House Shelter and continue to fight for
increased harm reduction, homeless services and housing.

The Raise the Rates Campaign for a decent social assistance income grows
stronger every day. As a result of a powerful and determined mobilization
across the province, the Ontario Liberal party was forced to restore $42
million in funding it had intended to cut as part of the elimination of
Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB). And we aren’t slowing
down anytime soon! This partial but significant victory has shown us what
communities can achieve and it will propel us forward as we continue the
fight to fully restore the CSUMB and Raise the Rates by 55%.

To make 2013 truly revolutionary we need the involvement and support of
everyone that can. Come out on February 22nd to help us celebrate the past
year and prepare for the year ahead!

Moderated by Leo Panitch and Greg Albo. Presentations by:
* Kevin Doogan is professor in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol. He writes on the political economy of labour markets and European integration and recently published New Capitalism? The Transformation of Work with Polity Press.
* Arun Gupta is a co-founder of The Indypendent and The Occupied Wall Street Journal, and has covered the Occupy movement for The Guardian,